Providing an article such as, for example, a brass faucet or lock with a multilayered coating by depositing a first coating layer or series of coating layers by electroplating and then depositing a second coating layer or series of coating layers on the electroplated coating layer by physical vapor deposition is known in the art. Such a multilayered coating provides abrasion and corrosion protection to the article, is decorative, and levels off any imperfections such as nicks and scratches on the article. Thus, for example, a brass article having a duplex nickel layer comprised of bright nickel and semi-bright nickel electroplated thereon and a zirconium nitride layer deposited on the duplex nickel layer by physical vapor deposition is smooth, has improved abrasion and corrosion resistance, and has the color of polished brass.
It is generally the vapor deposited layer which provides the abrasion protection and decorative appearance. However, the vapor deposited coating layer is generally quite thin, typically in the range of from about one to 20 millionths of an inch. Due to the thinness of the vapor deposited coating any water spots or any other surface defects such as nickel or chrome stains from or caused by the electroplating process show through and indeed are accentuated by the thin vapor deposited coating. Even spots, stains or discolorations which are not visible to the naked eye on the electroplated article will become visible after the vapor deposited coating is applied.
It is thus currently necessary to thoroughly inspect, clean and dry each article as it comes out of the electroplating bath. One conventional way of cleaning the electroplated articles is to run the articles through a water based cleaning system and use nitrogen drying to dry the articles. This is quite expensive and not always successful. Another method involves hand drying and cleaning each individual article. This hand drying, while more effective than a nitrogen based drying system, is very labor intensive and, therefore, also quite expensive. Hand drying also involves handling the electroplated articles which may result in dropping or bumping the articles against other objects with consequent damage to the articles.
It would be very advantageous if an efficient and effective drying method for the electroplated articles were available which eliminated the problems associated with conventional, currently used cleaning and drying methods. It is an object of the instant invention to provide such a system.